Basic Information onPopulation and Sustainability

EcoFuture 

"...democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity
cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you
put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only
declines, it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies. The more
people there are, the less one individual matters."

Audubon population and environment counters
"The destruction of the natural world we see across the globe today is 'fallout' from the human population explosion that has occurred over the course of the last 50 years.
The world is at a critical juncture.
While birth rates have fallen in many countries and regions, demographic momentum means we are now adding a record number of people to the world's population every year. At current birth rates the population of the world will double in the next 50 years. If that happens, countless creatures already pushed to the edge, may pass into extinction."

Family Planning Salon article, June, 2002: "The zealots behind President Bush's U.N. family planning sellout":
"The result of Bush's freeze [on international family planning assistance] has been a reduction in medical services to women worldwide. According to the UNFPA, in Bangladesh, where 67 percent of pregnant women receive no medical care, programs to train doctors to deal with pregnancy complications will be put on hold. In Vietnam, according to UNFPA field worker Tran Thi Van, a program to train 4,000 health workers in reproductive issues and to provide medical equipment and drugs to 500 remote clinics is in jeopardy. In Kenya, where the UNFPA has been working with the Catholic Church to prevent teenagers from getting AIDS, the church's request to expand the program will probably have to be rejected. Overall, UNFPA's funding shortfall is $52 million, because some other countries failed to meet their contribution targets due to financial constraints. The agency estimates that the lack of resources will result in 3 million unwanted pregnancies, 7,140 maternal deaths and, ironically, 1,215,000 abortions."

"I am convinced that some political and social activities
and practices of the Catholic organizations are detrimental
and even dangerous for the community as a whole, here and
everywhere. I mention here only the fight against birth
control at a time when overpopulation in various countries
has become a serious threat to the health of people and a
grave obstacle to any attempt to organize peace on this
planet." [Albert Einstein -- letter, 1954]

Estimated number of women who want contraception but lack access to
any form: 100 million.
Estimated number who want contraception but lack access to
adequate contraception: 350 million.